ReSound proudly sponsored Team Kyte for the hockey competition at the Canadian Deaf Games, held the last week in February in Winnipeg. The team went undefeated, bringing home the Gold Medal! Below is a first-hand account of the family’s experience.

The Canadian Deaf Games: A Synopsis by Rob Kyte

While Canadian Deaf Sports Association (CDSA) was organizing this event, it was suggested that to round out the number of teams for Hockey, that a Team Kyte be formed.

The organizers were hoping that at least 5-6 Kytes would respond to their request. To their surprise and in typical Team Kyte spirit, we showed up with a total of 9 members out of a total 11 hearing impaired members of the family, coming from as far as Hong Kong.

My brother Jim served as coach. When he made it to the NHL, with the Winnipeg Jets being his first team, he spent his formative years in Winnipeg developing a reputation as an enforcer and working his way into the hearts of the Winnipeggers. Editor’s Note: Kyte made history by being the first (and to date, only) legally deaf National Hockey League (NHL) player, playing 598 games in the NHL.

The Canadian Deaf Games commenced with the opening ceremonies where each athlete walked across the stage under the banner of their province they were representing. Since the Kyte family originated from Ottawa, we chose to go in as Ontario. The team proudly wore their Red Jerseys, sponsored by Resound, the hearing aids that four family members now wear.

The first match we played was against Team Quebec. The format of the game was 3 on 3 on the full ice. If there was a penalty, then the non-penalized team would add a player to become 4-3 for the duration of the penalty.

Although Team Kyte never practiced together, we quickly jelled with Coach Jim ensuring that the lines were well balanced with speed and skill. The “young guns” (nephews and nieces) really stood out with their speed, stick handling skills, shooting, and hockey sense (Out of 14 nieces (3) and nephews (11), 6 are hearing impaired). We played well, and comfortably won the game.

The team had a bye in the afternoon, so they went off to support the other sports close by which happened to be curling. The team wore their ReSound hats to most of the events: games, meals, and just hanging out.

The next day, Team Kyte had two matches. One against Team Western and Team Rockies #2. Both matches were tougher than Team Quebec, but again Team Kyte’s depth overcame the other teams with wins. It should be noted that the Team Kyte was down to 7 skaters as one of the original brothers only lasted 3 shifts in the first game against Team Quebec due to a back injury.

On day three, Team Kyte has one match left in the round robin and then the Gold Medal game as the team already qualified due to its record. The first match was against the 2nd team from the Rockies – Team Rockies #1. Again, Team Kyte’s depth and excellent goaltending secured the win. However, another member of the original brothers had to leave the game due to an ankle injury. In keeping with the family philosophy, the brother with the back injury suited up for the 3rd period to alleviate the stress of having only 6 skaters.

The Gold Medal game was against Team Rockies #2 team. It was a tense match as neither side wanted to make a mistake. We felt the pressure as were the only undefeated team. And we played with no coach as Jim Kyte decided to play despite of his knee issues. The other injured brothers also dressed for the game.

The efforts paid off as Team Kyte was victorious in securing the Gold medal!

It was a memorable experience to have the family together to play as a hockey team, as it has never been done before in an official capacity. The synergy amongst the family members was evident throughout the whole event. Each uncle was assigned a nephew as a roommate that added to the interaction, bonding and collaboration. This will go down in the Kyte Family history books.

It’s also a testament to the strides we’ve made in addressing hearing loss.

In the 1970s, long before inclusion in the mainstream classroom existed for hearing impaired children, our parents advocated to keep us, in the regular classroom environment, where they were able to excel academically with the use of hearing aids (which have come along way since then). Back then, our hearing aids consisted of a box strapped to our chests with wires going to our ears. Later on, we wore the behind the ear types that worked well, until you were hit in the ear, but it was an improvement over the chest straps.

Fast forward to today. With the smart technology that ReSound offers, we are now able to listen to our TVs, use our cell phones and follow s conversations in restaurants/meetings, and in cars. This has certainly improved our quality of living.

All in all, coming together to play as a team against the other teams was an amazing experience, with the nieces and nephews passing, shooting, and involving their uncles in the play. The generosity, friendliness, kindness, and patience of the other non-hearing and non-verbal participants at the games was truly inspiring.

In honor of Veterans Day on Saturday, November 11, we wanted to share the two most common health conditions our military veterans face, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers: tinnitus and hearing loss.

Tinnitus has been described as ringing, buzzing, clicking or hissing in your ears. Tinnitus can develop in people of all ages and backgrounds. However, people who are older or who’ve had a lot of exposure to noise are especially at risk. Veterans, due to their exposure to loud noise levels during their service, are more susceptible to developing tinnitus. According to www.military.com, nearly 1.5 million veterans are receiving disability benefits for tinnitus.

Hearing loss and tinnitus can affect your relationships, making it difficult to interact with others in various listening environments. This can lead to feelings of isolation or depression. It’s important to remember you are not alone in this. If you think you or a loved one may have tinnitus or hearing loss, resources are available to help, such as information on the early signs of hearing loss, information on hearing loss and information on tinnitus.

ReSound also has a free online hearing test that can help give a general assessment of your hearing level. A professional hearing test is highly encouraged to verify any results that you may get.

The Stevie® Award winners were recently announced at the 14th Annual International Business Awards (IBAs). If you’re not familiar, the IBAs touts themselves as the world’s premier business awards program. The 2017 IBAs received more than 3,900 entries from more than 60 nations and territories.

ReSound is proud to announce that our mission to help those with hearing loss Hear More, Do More and Be More has been recognized with five Stevie Awards:

ReSound was awarded a Bronze Stevie for Company of the Year (Health Products & Services – Large)

GN Hearing North American President Kim Lody was named the winner of a Silver Stevie Award for the Woman of the Year (All Other Industries)

ReSound’s Management team was awarded Silver Stevie Award for Management Team of the Year (Consumer Products)

ReSound’s Customer Service team was awarded a Silver Stevie for Customer Service Department of the Year (All Other Industries)

ReSound’s Customer Service team was also awarded a Bronze Stevie for Customer Service Team of the Year (All Other Industries)

If you would like to learn more about the Stevie’s, the International Business Awards or view the full lists of Stevie Award winners, please visit http://stevieawards.com/iba.

This testimonial blog is courtesy of Jim Ahler, a ReSound user who wished to share his story with us. We have not edited or changed Jim’s thoughts (beyond adding links) to preserve the integrity of the message.

The staff at Raleigh Ear, Nose & Throat suggested I share my story about my hearing aids experience. I absolutely love my ReSound hearing aids and was particularly interested in the ReSound product because of the iPhone app technology. I am very glad, as you will read, that I selected your product!

On January 22nd, my wife and I participated in a Holt Brothers charity event at the indoor football facility on NC State University’s campus. It was a huge party with more than 400 folks and included watching the Atlanta Falcons/Green Bay Packers playoff game on big screen TVs. When we arrived and registered, we were given a lanyard with our identification on it and several sets of beads with the colors of the team we supported.

When the party concluded, we packed up our coats and bags, etc. Walking out, we took off all of the beads and lanyard and left them on the registration table. I had my left hand and arm full of coats and scarfs, so I removed everything with my right hand. I did not realize until we got home that I did not have either hearing aid on! They apparently came off as I pulled off the beads and lanyard. I did not notice they were missing until I arrived at my home. That was an hour later and the space was cleaned up and closed!

We managed to get hold of a friend on Raleigh’s City Council, who reached out to one of the NC State University (NCSU) Athletic Department staff, who was involved in the party. She agreed to meet us at the venue and let us into the facility. She warned us the cleaning crew had finished their work and had left the facility. When we arrived, she told us the cleaning crew remembered finding the hearing aids, but they threw them away! One was in a garbage can somewhere inside the indoor football facility, but the other was likely in a large black trash bag in an industrial sized dumpster on the back of the property in the woods.

We used your hearing aid finder app technology to walk around the football facility. When we got close to my right hearing aid, the bar on the ReSound app started to rise on my phone screen. As we got closer, we discovered it was in the bottom of a trash bin that had a brand new bag in it! I would have never found this hearing aid had it not been for this app! It gets better, though.

We then drove to the industrial dumpster on the back of the property in the woods, in the rain, at 11 pm, and began pulling large black garbage bags out of it. Our vehicle headlights illuminated the dumpster for us to see what we were doing. The NCSU staffer was on one side of the dumpster, while I was on the other. My wife held my phone using your app reading each bag for the missing hearing aid. On the 20th bag we pulled out, we got a faint reading. We ripped open the bag and, using the app technology, searched the contents until we found the left one! Both hearing aids were working just fine.

We are obviously indebted to the NCSU staffer who went above and beyond the call of duty to help us. We sent her flowers and a spa gift to reward her kindness. I wanted to share this wonderful success story with you and your company and thank you for your terrific technology! I wouldn’t have found these hearing aids without it.

Summer is officially here! For many, summertime spells vacation. But something that shouldn’t take a vacation is your hearing protection!

Summer time activities can expose you to some high decibel levels, so make sure to have your hearing protection handy for some of these standard summer fare.

Taking care of the yard: Who doesn’t want a well-manicured lawn? Well, mowing the grass with a power lawn mower can reach up to 100 dB. That’s similar to the decibel level of a jackhammer.

Going fishing: Fishing itself is a calm, relaxing way to spend the day. However, use of a large outboard motor can reach decibel levels of 100 dB. That’s similar to a Boeing 707 at one nautical mile distance away prior to landing.

Rocking out: Outdoor concerts and music festivals are synonymous with summertime. Some of those festivals can reach upwards of 120 dB. At that level, it’s similar to listening to a thunderclap or chainsaw.

Celebrating America’s Birthday: Fourth of July is right around the corner, and that of course means fireworks! Fireworks are a staple of Independence Day, but proper hearing protection is a must when lighting fireworks. At a distance of three feet, certain fireworks can reach up 150 dB. That’s similar to a jet taking off from a distance of 25 meters away.

Braintree, Massachusetts has been home to many notable residents during its existence; politicians, musicians, sports figures and ReSound hearing aid wearer Leland “Lee” Dingee.

Lee, 70, is a retired printing salesman, strategic sourcing buyer, city councilman and veteran of the United States Army. Don’t let his retired status fool you; Lee is still as active as ever. He enjoys spending time with his wife, their two sons and all of his grandkids, going to the gym three to four days a week, shooting pistols and taking dance lessons.

An overhead explosion while serving in Army in his 20’s caused Lee’s bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The event directly impacted how Lee would communicate during his career and time in public office.

“I had to learn to read lips early,” said Lee, “It was, at times, hard to pay attention to clients, especially in a meeting room with multiple people talking.” Similar issues occurred when Lee would be in a noisy environment, such as restaurants. “It was hard to focus in when so many people were talking at once.”

Lee’s 30 year tenure in public office had moments where his hearing loss caused difficulties. “It was hard to hear when someone was speaking. I missed quite a lot,” said Lee, “I would have to use the meeting minutes to catch up on what I missed.”

The influence of his hearing loss extended to Lee’s tone of voice as well, leading him to speak more quietly than intended. “I was speaking in a very low range. I could hear in that range, so it made me feel like I was projecting my voice and speaking up. It was actually very quiet for others to hear, and they would often ask me to repeat myself,” said Lee.

That all changed a few years ago, thanks to Rhonda Natanblut Ruby, M.S. of the West Newton Hearing Center. “Rhonda has tested my hearing for years,” said Lee, “A few years ago she called me to let me know she found something. Thank God for the personal attention she gave me. She constantly was looking for hearing aids over the years that would help my hearing loss, because nothing would have helped before. I was excited about possibly resolving some of my hearing issues.” After Lee tried the ReSound Smart Hearing™ aids Rhonda had recommended, it was a done deal.

“That’s it, I want them.”

Since then, it’s been a whole new experience. “I heard noises I’ve never heard before; subtle sounds like birds chirping, paper clenching and floorboards creaking. The first few weeks I had them, I thought someone was following me because I was hearing all these new sounds.” Lee also looked forward to what they could do for him in noisy environments.

While out to dinner with his wife and Rhonda, Lee was able to easily participate in conversation despite the noisy environment by adjusting his programming using the ReSound Smart™ app on his iPhone®. “When I got them, I was expecting that if I was in a crowd, I could understand the people around me. These hearing aids have exceeded my expectations. It gives you a great deal of confidence going forward knowing you’re getting the information.”

Besides being able to hear more clearly, Lee loves his ReSound Smart Hearing aids Made for iPhone features. “Besides being able to hear better, my favorite feature is listening to music through my hearing aids while I’m at the gym. I can take phone calls right in my hearing aids as well.”

“It’s such a big plus to be able to better hear. How often do people get in trouble by misunderstanding what someone has said? I don’t have that anymore. People put them off because of price, or look or don’t want to admit they need one. I’m bald, but people still don’t notice that I have them in. It just improves quality of life so much,” said Lee, “It’s life-changing, it really is.”

The future of Smart Hearing is here! ReSound LiNX 3D is the newest member to the Smart Hearing family that will let you hear more, do more and be more than you ever thought possible. Whether you’re at the beach, a restaurant, a board meeting or just on the phone, you can enjoy connecting to the world around you with crystal clear sound. To learn more about the ReSound LiNX 3D, visit http://linx3d.resound.com/en-us/.

Along with the ReSound LiNX 3D, the new ReSound Smart 3D app allows you to enhance your ReSound LiNX 3D hearing experience. Everything you need for a quick adjustment is on the main screen for one-tap access. You can learn more about the ReSound Smart 3D app at http://www.resound.com/en-US/hearing-aids/apps/smart3dapp.

The ReSound 3D Smart app gives you control at your fingertips, letting you optimize many settings yourself. But sometimes, after your initial fitting with you hearing care provider, you need some additional fine-tuning. ReSound Assist can help. ReSound Assist is a new feature that allows for cloud-enabled remote assistance for your ReSound LiNX 3D Smart Hearing aids. ReSound Assist lets you stay connected to your hearing care professional without having to make a trip to the hearing clinic. You can learn more about ReSound Assist at http://www.resound.com/en-US/assist.